|
relative pronoun
|
use
|
example
|
|
who
|
subject or object pronoun for people
|
I told you about the woman who lives
next door.
|
|
which
|
subject or object pronoun for animals and
things
|
Do you see the cat which is lying on
the roof?
|
|
which
|
referring to a whole sentence
|
He couldn’t read which surprised me.
|
|
whose
|
possession for people animals and things
|
Do you know the boy whose mother is a
nurse?
|
|
whom
|
object pronoun for people, especially in
non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially
prefer who)
|
I was invited by the professor whom I
met at the conference.
|
|
that
|
subject or object pronoun for people, animals
and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also
possible)
|
I don’t like the table that stands in
the kitchen.
|
Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun?
Subject and object pronouns cannot be
distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject and object
pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:
- If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.
- The apple which is lying on the table
- If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.
- The apple (which) George lay on the table
